Splitting the Lightning
by afriendtosell
Summary: [Timeskip] As war between the Leaf and the Rock looms over the horizon, Hatake Kakashi is going to have to learn that, in a world where words and titles mean everything, one must put up or shut up in the face of the impossible.
1. Sheep

A/N: Updates on Friday or Saturday

XXX

Tagline: (Timeskip) As war between the Leaf and the Rock looms over the horizon, Hatake Kakashi is going to have to learn that, in a world where words and titles mean everything, one must put-up or shut-up in the face of the impossible.

XXX

_Harmlessly passing your time in the grassland away  
Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air  
You better watch out  
There may be dogs about  
I've looked over Jordan and I have seen  
Things are not what they seem._

XXX

Splitting the Lightning

a Naruto fanfiction

by Pridefall

Disclaimer: I own nothing except what is mine.

XXX

Chapter 01  
"Sheep"_  
Or_  
In Which We Learn that Everything Has Gone To Hell.

XXX

Everything has gone wrong when it shouldn't have.

The mission was simple: join the delegation of Fire Daimyo sent towards the small piece of contested land that lay between the Waterfall and the Rain as protection for them. And while the politicians try to work everything out between themselves, set up a small forward command base near the Rock and gather information on their newest "weapon."

It was simple.

It _should have been_ simple.

Get in.

Find what they were looking for.

Get out.

_Simple_.

…But, then again, what involving politics ever was?

Their true purpose was betrayed. Or they just acted too careless.

(Kakashi believes it is the latter.)

The pretense for the enemies attack was that Kakashi's forces set up their base too close to a plateau owned by one of the Daimyo of the Rock and the offended noble had hired "specialists" to negotiate. Violently, if necessary, but they had assured Kakashi it wouldn't come to that in their missive.

Bastards.

It was a lie, of course, and the violence was more of a promise than a threat, but what did a lie matter in politics?

Everyone just wanted blood, and blood they were getting.

The ANBU came at dawn, hard and fast and merciless. What was left of Kakashi's original command post lay in ruins, and what was left of any coherency between commander and troop has been tossed out the window in the face of overwhelming chaos.

Kakashi had no idea of how to come out on top of this.

Has no idea if he _can_.

They're outnumbered.

Outgunned.

His troops are boxed in by mountains on all sides.

What is left of his army – his comrades, his friends, his allies, his family, he would hope they saw themselves as -- are all fighting tooth and nail and steel and blood around him for an idealistic mission they do not believe in.

Screaming.

Crying.

Fighting.

Denying.

Dying.

Reinforcements are days away.

The enemy _will not stop advancing._

Kakashi looks at his hands. At the slowly darkening horizon and at the cliff-face looming behind him.

The sky is on _fire_.

Somewhere in the distance, black, angry storm clouds gather and coalesce like a slowly spilling blot of ink thrown across the sky.

Somewhere off in the distance, thunder violently crashes and rumbles without a flash of light to accompany it.

Somewhere closer – far too close, Kakashi thinks --- hundreds of bolts of lightning the size of small katana arc through the sky and strike the side of the cliff-face behind him in a soundless, incandescent rain.

Light without sound.

Sound without light.

He blinks.

The fact of how hopeless that situation is; at how utterly _screwed_ they are, finally registers in the forefront of his mind.

The impossible made real.

He blinks, again.

_Well, shit_.

The enemy brought a Jinchuuriki…

_Six Tails._

_Kakashi, why won't you take me with you?_

_Because I need soldiers, Naruto. Not children._

…and he left his at home.

He was unprepared to handle this.

(Unprepared to handle everything about being a commander, he thinks)

…And now everyone was paying for it.

It was a stupid mistake, and he should have caught it. The Lightning had a Jinchuuriki, the Sand had one, the Leaf had one, and the Grass had _two_; so what was stopping the Rock from having a few to throw around too?

Here is Hatake Kakashi, failing.

A part of his mind is whispering: _This is the end_

A part of his mind is registering: **SNAP OUT OF IT**

And yet Hatake Kakashi is oblivious.

Totally.

And completely.

_Oblivious._

They call it shell-shock

S-H-E-L-L-S-H-O-C-K

Or Post-traumatic-stress-disorder

He knows what it really is.

**Fear.**

Fear of flying.

Fear of falling.

Fear of failing

He tries to suppress it.

Finds that he can't.

He _won't_.

_**Fear is the mind killer.**_

He has no time for it.

He has no stomach for it.

Kakashi is _better_ than that.

Kakashi has _killed_ that part of himself.

He is a _shinobi_ and shinobi do not _fear_.

…And yet…

He cannot move.

…And yet…

He cannot breathe.

Kakashi is paralyzed.

He can only stand, his eyes transfixed, as a bright cobalt-blue flash illuminates the cliff overlooking their camp, outlines the shape of two figures – one falling, one standing -- and then, finally, dissipates into the sky.

Here is the thunder he has been waiting for.

Here is the sound of a thousand battle drums.

Here is his protégée risking everything he has – life, limb, sense, word, _pride_ -- to prove he is _right_. To prove Kakashi is _wrong_.

The light dissipates.

The thunder echoes.

And now, here is Uchiha Sasuke, falling.

Falling.

And falling.

And **falling**.

When his body strikes the ground – hitting so hard that it bounces -- and then lies still, his clothing smoking and neon-blue arcs of electricity racing across his skin, Kakashi only blinks, and smiles, and laughs.

(_Post-Traumatic-Stress_)

Someone lays their hand on his shoulder and whispers _Ill get to him first_. Then, they are gone.

Kakashi is so far away it never registers.

Will, perhaps, never register.

Kakashi is thinking on the past.

Thinking of choices.

Thinking of the choice he is about to make.

(Fight or flight.)

Thinking of the men who made this choice before him.

(Fight or sacrifice.)

Once, Hatake Kakashi had a father.

_His name was Sakumo. He was an honorable man who taught his son the meaning of the word "Greatness." _

Once, Hatake Kakashi had a teacher.

_His name was Arashi. He was the Yondaime Hokage, and taught his students how to distinguish man from monster._

Now, Hatake Kakashi is watching.

_The Sharingan records his life in fractions, a maddening red spiral that imprints memories but does not censor them for safety._

Watching his father spiral into alcoholism.

_Down, and down, and down, a man so stubbornly thirsty that he'd drink down an entire ocean of salt just to spite his thirst_

Watching his entire world shatter.

_The Yondaime stands tall, fire and shadow stripping away his immortality and rendering every aspect of him – teacher, father, __**legend – **__as naked and mortal as the child in his arms._

Watching.

…_As Haruno Sakura grows up faster than any woman should._

Watching.

…_As Uzumaki Naruto struggles for the recognition of a Village that had damned him._

Watching.

…_As Uchiha Sasuke throws his life away for a dream that was never his._

Once, Hatake Kakashi knew what it was like to be proud of these things.

_An Uchiha and the Demon on the same team; the son of his bloodline and the son of his teacher, both orphans seeking guidance. A teacher's dream._

Once, Hatake Kakashi knew what it was like to be proud of himself.

_Knew how to stand tall; how to walk, and talk, and act as human as he wanted to be. _

Now, all he knows is regret.

_And like any cancer, it grows, and grows, and grows._

He has his father's sword in his hand.

_It was bloodstained when they gave it to him, dried blood crusted on its edge_

He uses it, every now and then, to prove a point to himself.

_He cannot let go; will not let go of the past, and the sword is testament to this._

It is an illness.

_His father's face looking down on him, so stern and regal, like an Alpha wolf looking down at its cub after an unsuccessful hunt._

Hatake Kakashi wants to be cured of his illness.

_For the sake of everyone else, he needs to be cured_

Hatake Kakashi _will_ be cured of his illness.

_He is not his father._

The tide of battle shifts all around him, and he is an island.

A statue.

An eye.

A center.

A port.

The decision to change, to accept responsibility for one's actions is never easy to make.

Kakashi takes a breath.

Holds it.

It's never easy to make.

He is their Commander.

He is responsible for their lives.

He needs to take control, _now_.

"SQUADS, FORM UP ON ME!"

They do as they are told, quickly and efficiently.

"WHEN I GIVE THE SIGNAL, MOVE!"

They're running faster than the enemy can keep up, blazing a path to freedom with tooth and nail and blade.

"GAI, GET THESE IDIOTS OUT OF THE WAY!"

The ground heaves, an emerald blur moving between rising and falling stones.

Bodies part like grass before a scythe.

The way is clear.

"MOVE!"

They run like a pack of scared wolves, snapping and biting at whatever enemy nears them, moving as one unit, as one _entity_; fear and adrenalin propelling them through the opening of the basin as if the very hounds of hell were at their heels.

"MOVE!"

The mountain walls rise on either side of them, giant, jagged teeth yawning open into the coming dawn, and then…

Kakashi stops, letting his pack clear the opening in front of him, and then, screams: "**DOTON: Iwa Yado Kuzushi**!"

The walls crumble inwards, rock and earth toppling in slow, languorous waves that kill those too close for comfort and buy Kakashi's forces enough time to get away.

Kakashi stares at the destruction he caused.

Calculates his chances of buying them enough time and surviving to rejoin them.

Sighs.

'_I think I finally get it, Obito_.'

What's done is done.

He'll stay.

A little bit more running, and they'll be in the clear.

He looks over his shoulder, towards the cliff.

Sighs.

He told the Uchiha it would never work.

Told him over, and over, and over again.

Sasuke never _listened_.

Would _never_ learn how.

Raikiri.

Lightning edge.

Cutting a lightning bolt.

Pffft.

You just can't bend physics that way, no matter how hard you try.

Kakashi told Sasuke this.

Pleaded with him.

Sasuke never, ever, **ever** listened.

And now, _**he**_ was paying for it.

Kakashi cannot stop laughing.

How could one believe they could cut the sky?

It was impossible.

Kakashi knew this.

…And yet…

As his mad laughter subsides and he looks up to the cloud line…

As his eyes begin to narrow and his fists begin to clench…

As the lightning flashes and he can see a figure with six tails and an impossibly large shadow smile the shit-eatingest smile this side of someone who is _not_ Uzumaki Naruto…

…Kakashi can only think:

_I've always been so sure of myself…Always thought that the path I walked was the only one that mattered…And now…What?_

_I…I tried to give Sasuke another chance…Tried to make things _right again_…And He just throws it away for a dream? _

_For nothing?_

_Was I ever that idealistic?_

_Will I __**ever**__ be that idealistic?_

And then it hits him.

…_It…_

_It can't end like this._

**I won't let it.**

The scarecrow sighs.

_No…not like this._

Looks at his hands.

Frowns.

Looks at the sky.

Smiles.

Kakashi makes the familiar hand-signs knowing what he must do; fearing what he must do, his hands trembling and his stomach tied in knots.

_Ox_

_Rabbit_

_Monkey_

He smells ozone, he feels the _heat_, and then, with a whispered prayer ushered beneath a gently falling tumult of leaves, Hatake Kakashi is gone.

_Put up or shut up time_.

XXX

TBC

XXX

_What do you get for pretending the danger's not real  
Meek and obedient you follow the leader  
Down well trodden corridors into the valley of steel  
What a surprise!  
A look of terminal shock in your eyes  
Now things are really what they seem  
No, this is no bad dream.  
- _"Sheep", by Pink Floyd


	2. Pigs On The Wing

Tagline: (Timeskip) As war between the Leaf and the Rock looms over the horizon, Hatake Kakashi is going to have to learn that in a world where words and titles mean everything, one must put-up or shut-up in the face of the impossible.

XXX

A/N: Pay very, very, very close attention to the last scene. Also, I'm posting this early since the new Harry Potter book comes out when I would normally post a new chapter. Also, for those of you who are interested my livejournal (which you can find at my profile) usually updates with a preview of the newest chapter a day before it comes out here, so, by all logic...

Previews on Thursdays at pridefall(dot)livejournal(dot)co  
And new chapters on Friday, here.

XXX

_If you didn't care what happened to me,  
And I didn't care for you  
We would zigzag our way through the boredom and pain  
Occasionally glancing up through the rain  
Wondering which of the buggers to blame  
And watching for pigs on the wing._

XXX

Splitting the Lightning

a Naruto fanfiction  
by Pridefall

Disclaimer: I own nothing except what is mine.

XXX

Chapter 2  
"Pigs on the Wing"  
_Or_  
In Which Hatake Kakashi Has a Normal, Albeit Hard Day

XXX

_The human body cannot respond to stress without running through the physical symptoms of a nervous breakdown. His heart is pounding somewhere in his throat. His muscles are burning beneath his skin; his is chest heaving from the strain. His vision blurs as the rain falls, obscuring it and making his surroundings indiscernible in the half-light of the moon. _

_No one ever taught Kakashi about the fragility of his own body; never bothered to teach him about physical absolutes and limits, and this…This is his absolute limit. This is his one last push before damnation. He has always been saved before it came to this; has always finished a mission or killed a target before it came to bend or break, and now, when it counts more than anything that his training keeps him alive, he's questioning himself. He is thinking he's not good enough._

_He's never been in that position before. _

_He's never doubted that he could not achieve anything but the very best because he's _always_ been the _best_ and always bested everything that stopped him from doing so._

…_Until now._

_Now, he's running hard, his arms pumping by his sides as his booted feet strike loudly against the rain-splattered ground. It feels like his muscles are burning, like his chest is about to cave in and heart is about to either burst out from behind his lungs or explode somewhere between his Adam's apple and his trachea. _

'_Keep…Moving…'_

_It hurts in a sublime, almost-Zen way that inspires him to run faster. The pain shouldn't matter; doesn't matter. He has to keep moving forward. He has to keep on running; needs to keep pushing himself -- his breath coming out in dry, painful heaves while the acrid taste of bile rises in his throat and hot, heavy blood threatens to solidify in his veins._

_She's counting on him, for once, and he can't fail her; won't fail her, even if it cost him his life. _

_She's counting on him. _

_He cannot stop._

_A Grass-nin leaps into his peripherals with a scream in a language he doesn't know or care to try to decipher, all of the Grass' supposed superior shinobi-caution and training thrown to the bitter, cold wind. He knows he can't take the time to engage the man, so he has to improvise, and do so quickly. _

'_Gotta…One shot…' Kakashi drops down to his knees and slides down through the mud as the Grass-nin's scissor-gauntlet cuts through the air – and the top of Kakashi's hair, he notices dryly -- then turns and trips the man using his own momentum against him. The Grass-nin stumbles forward onto Kakashi's ready half-chidori, his entire body shuddering before Kakashi's hand carves itself through his chest and out the other side faster than the man can sigh out his last breath._

'…_Dead weight' he pushes the Jounin off his chest, his hand coming free with a wet pop, and finds himself face to face with four more of his friends._

'_Shit…' He lets out a half-gasp, half-sigh, visibly exhausted as he leans over and braces his hands on his knees. 'There is no time for this.'_

_Part of him is glad that the Grass-nin seem to agree with him. They all come at him at once; thinking numbers can overcome skill and the shadow of Kakashi's success. He leaps into their midst without another thought, drawing his father's tanto out in mid-flight with a flash of brilliant white light. It's so bright, so beatific and so out of place on the battlefield that they look confused for a moment; some shielding their eyes from the white nova in the rain, and Kakashi takes the chance they give him to carve the nearest Grass-nin in twine as he lands. _

'_Three'_

_Blood erupts from the wound and gushes all across his face. It's still as viscous and horrendously warm despite the cold rain (which is something Kakashi expects) and smells distinctly of copper and shit (something he hasn't gotten used to yet, and never wants to). His stomach rebels against him as the red shower intermixes with the falling rain, staining him through his clothes and running down his face in vibrant crimson lines that stand out against the paleness of his skin._

_He pushes the sickness down. _

_He doesn't care. _

_They're in his way._

'_Time to end this.'_

_He takes a breath and pulls down his Hitae-ate to reveal his glorified badge of shame to the world, the world slowing down to snapshots of movement and thought that blur together in erratic blurs of before and after-image. The Grass-nin to his left runs through the hand-signs of a jutsu and has his legs cut out from underneath him ('Two') as a Grass-nin that somehow got behind Kakashi takes a chance and closes in from behind and shoves a kunai into Kakashi's shoulder. He ignores the pain ('It's nothing, keep moving.') while cursing his stupidity and intercepts another stab from the Grass-nin to his right with his tanto ('Dammit.'), the sound of metal striking metal as they trade blows concordant with a blade of lightning cutting across the sky._

'_Shit!'_

_He's never tested himself like this; never pushed himself to this kind of limit, and it shows in every mistake he makes. His enemies have studied him; have realized that the Sharingan cannot cover so many different enemies at once or see what's going on behind its user's back. _

_They both attack him from each and every angle imaginable, pushing him between them with their attacks; herding him, making him spend time he can't waste with their stupid last-minute feints and their stupid Grass-nin tricks._

'_Enough!' He slams his tanto down the length of his opponent's katana, jamming the hilt of his father's sword against his opponent's wrist and breaking it with a loud crack as Kakashi reverses his momentum and brings his elbow crashing into the Grass-nin's face while his katana clatters to the wet ground. His opponent's nose shatters beneath the force, the crimson blood that blossoms across his face disorienting him enough for Kakashi to kick him in the chest and knock him to the ground._

'_Two!'_

_The outlandish move costs him. While he's occupied with his partner, the second Grass-nin makes his move by sneaking in low behind Kakashi and jamming eight senbon ('Fuck. Fuck!') into his lower back and closer to Kakashi's kidney then anything that sharp should._

_Kakashi lets out a grunt of pain and, then and there, decides to end the battle._

_They've been in his way to Rin long enough. _

_He shuttles chakra into his leg, and though his ribs and muscles burn with the effort, he rotates on his left heel and lashes out with his right, catching the lucky (now unlucky) offender in the face with a loud, echoing _snap_ before he somersaults over the first as he tries to stab him. The second Grass-nin stab rushes underneath him as Kakashi lands and ends up stabbing his comrade right in the throat with a wet, disgusting _plop

'_Ha.'_

_Kakashi turns to face his lone attacker as the man, his shoulders tightening and then slowly loosening, wipes his sword on the ground and does the same. They both stand about the same height – the Grass-nin being slightly taller – and though Kakashi tries not to let it into his mind, he realizes that, though the man is quite plain as far as shinobi go, he has the clearest brown eyes Kakashi has ever seen on a man._

"_What's your name?" the man asks, breaking Kakashi's concentration and making what he thinks is his first mistake in their duel._

"_It isn't important."_

_And it isn't, because knowing the name of the man you were about to kill only made it that much harder to do so. Kakashi raises his tanto to chest level – the man doing the same – and begins to circle him, his movements measured and precise as they preen and posture as only two men who knew one of them was about to die could do._

"_Then that is what I'll write that on your grave."_

_The blitzkrieg of before was over. Now it was time for the dance, and thereafter the saving of the girl. The Grass-nin's stance is tight; his steps deliberate, wasting neither glance nor movement as he matches every single one of Kakashi's steps with the practiced professionalism of a master._

_His serenity makes Kakashi nervous. '...Why am I even doing this?'_

_Their eyes meet. 'I have to save Rin! What the fuck am I doing?'_

_They raise their blades; shift into their best stances. 'This doesn't make sense! If I die here then no one can save her!'_

_A wolf howls somewhere in the distance._

'_Stop it! Run away!'_

_Lightning flashes. _

_Boots beat against the ground._

_Rain falls._

_Strike. _

_Clang. _

_Boom. _

_Silence._

_Thud._

_He can barely manage to keep standing, his legs shaking beneath him, but he can manage a smile._

_He did it._

"_My name is Hatake…" _

_Now it was time to…_

"…_Kakashi?"_

_His heart skips a beat._

'_No.'_

_He feels warmth run down his side. _

"_Kakashi!"_

_Everything starts to get blurry._

'_No.'_

_Lightning flashes._

"_Kakashi, hold on!"_

_The last thing he sees is Gai's terrified face._

XXX

Kakashi woke as if he had been stabbed in his sleep – his entire body going rigid as a scream died in his throat and his hands reached out in front of him as if trying to stop some unseen assailant from murdering him.

"_Kakashi!"_

Kakashi's body kept shaking, his hands, chest, and muscles all going violently haywire as his mind reeled back from the last vestiges of the nightmare.

"_Kakashi, hold on_!"

It took all of a full minute for him to realize that he was still alive and in the real world again despite the scenery, ('_I'm at home, I'm at home, I'm at…'_) but the damage was already done.

Rin was dead.

Had been killed because Kakashi wasn't good enough.

Realizing it over and over again only made things worse.

'_Get out of there_…'

Gai had tried to convince him otherwise; had tried to explain to him that he himself had done his best to save Rin after he patched up Kakashi's wounds, but as an orphan Kakashi could see hollow words of kindness from a mile away. He had failed Rin, and the memory of her death made him hurt somewhere deep and uncomfortable in his subconscious like a blunt knife being shoved into in an infected wound.

'_Kakashi!_' _she screams as she loses her balance and…_

'Get out of there...' he repeated to himself, tapping a dulled kunai against his forehead as if it would somehow jar the memory from its place.

"Dammit." The scarecrow shook his head and reached for the bottle of water next to his night stand. Twisting off the top, he took a long drink and, letting the cold liquid slide down his throat, sat up in bed and watched the sun rise over Konoha.

"_Kakashi_!"

It was a few more minutes until the shaking stopped. When he found that he could breathe without gasping for breath, he placed his head in his hand – the water bottle hanging from the opposite -- and tried to stop the his head and the room from spinning.

Ring

Then, the phone rang.

XXX

"…-ello?"

" …"

"Hello?"

"…Mmmfh, say stuff."

"Kakashi?"

"Yeah?"

"Hey, it's Kurenai."

"Snnnnnhey Kurenai."

"Wow, you sound like crud."

"(**yawn**)AaahI feel like it too, unfortunately."

"Hangover?"

"Like someone's pet tarantula is tap-dancing on my head with soccer cleats."

"Heheheh. _Someone_ had too much fun last night."

"Nyhhh…Iruka's bachelor party? I(**yawn**)gave up on that after Anko caught 'im dancin' with Shizune."

"Then…Wait, you didn't-"

"…"

"Kakashi!"

"Mmmmrgh."

"Was it the nightmares again? I keep telling you to stop drinking so much before you go to bed!"

"……Whatdja call soyawnearly for?"

"Hey, don't you go and try to change the subj-"

"(**yawn**)Aaaah...Whatever it is, it must be important, right?"

"Kaka_shi_!"

"I mean, I've got a massive hangover here, and I'm liable to pass out on the receiver."

"…"

"'ello?"

"...The Hokage wanted me to tell you that she wants to see you today as soon as possible. Yesterday, even."

"Eh? That's it?

"Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothin'. Jus sounds like there's more to it. Tsunade's not so straightforward."

"Ah…yeah…"

"So there is more!"

"She, uh… She told me to go over to your house and drag you to her office if you took too long."

"That's not so bad."

"I wasn't finished. She also said that she'd sent a notice to you yesterday, but knew you wouldn't read it and called me to make sure you got your lazy ass there on time, for once."

"Okay, that's…harsh."

"Her words, not mine."

"M'kay. So what time was I posed to be there?"

"…"

"Kurenai?"

"What time is it?"

"Nine-thirty ish?"

"Then….About two hours ago."

"Oh…Crap."

"Yeah...I'm sure she made it an order for the other Jounin she called, so…"

"Wait, other Jounin?"

"Yep."

"Shit. So this is…?"

"A pre-emptive ass-kicking call, yeah. Hurry up before Ibiki or Anko get over there."

"Hm…Kurenai?"

"What? You should be-"

"I forgot to ask you something."

"Um, okay?"

"Last night you were at the party with Asuma, right?"

"...I don't see how that would be of importance to you, but yes."

"So... Did you two..."

"…"

"…Kakashi, if you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting, I'm going to..."

"No, no, nothing like that!"

"Then what?"

"Well, you know…in case you do it again, I recommend position three from page sixty-seven from **Icha Icha Volume Two: Kunai and Kinkiness**. Trust me, Asuma'll love it!"

"Kakashi!"

"Later, Kurenai!"

_click_

XXX

Tsunade stared at them with hard, almond colored eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you two..." she began, accepting the manila folder Kakashi handed back to her with what he thought was an appraising look "This situation with the Rock looks as if it may escalate to an all out war if not treated..."

"Quickly? Brashly? Guns blazingly?" Ishida chimed in next to the Copy-Eye Nin, hopping about and acting too eager to help push Tsunade's buttons.

"...Carefully." The Godaime finished, shooting a look at the red headed Jounin that should've burned him to the bone while Kakashi, sensing the mounting tension in the room, grabbed Ishida's shoulder and forced him back into his seat.

"Hey!--"

"--So that's why you need me?" Kakashi asked, trying to divert attention from Ishida and back onto the task at hand.

Tsunade stopped glaring at the red-headed Jounin and focused again on Kakashi. "Yes. That's exactly why I need you, Hatake. You're the only acting Jounin I have on hand right now that has any sort of leadership experience in this...field."

Kakashi straightened a bit at the compliment, but otherwise saw that Tsunade was using him as a last resort again; which...well, it didn't matter that much to him anyway, in retrospect.

It'd been a long time since Kakashi put that much stock in rank anymore.

Ishida, however, did. "And me? You need me for my special skills too, right?!" The red-headed Jounin asked, leaning forward in his chair; his face a cheerful mask.

Tsunade's small smile instantly fell. "No, not quite. You're more there to tag along with the main group because you're smart, you know when to pull out of a fight you can't win, and...stop looking at me like that."

Ishida beamed. "You called me smart."

"And?"

"You gave me a compliment."

Tsunade dropped her face into her open palm. "Ishida, I swear if you start--"

The red-headed Jounin leapt out of his chair. "The Hokage actually has feelings for me that aren't absolute hatred!"

Kakashi, who had been hanging onto Tsunade's every word until then, tried to look nonchalant as his Hokage closed her eyes and began to mouth counting from one to ten.

'I wonder how long it'll take?' he thought to himself.

It wasn't everyday that he saw the most powerful woman in the village lost for words. It also wasn't everyday that he saw someone as reviled as Ishida get away with an almost Naruto-level of obnoxiousness in front of the Godaime without being punished for it.

'Five. Four. Three. Two...'

"She likes me! She really, really likes me!"

That said, he knew Tsunade wouldn't take it if Ishida kept pushing his luck.

"Oh, come 'ere you!"

Kakashi's one revealed eye widened. 'Oh shit. He's not gonna..._Oh fuck_. He is.'

Time seemed to slow down as Ishida crossed the expanse of the room with his arms outstretched and then splayed himself across Tsunade's lap in what could only be defined as an "overly lascivious hug" – his arms clamping down around her neck and his face somehow finding its way between Tsunade's breasts.

"Aw, I love you too Tsu-chan!"

With a sigh, Kakashi got up from his seat and watched as Tsunade grabbed Ishida and threw him through the wall right next to her desk.

"As I was saying…"

Kakashi took his seat in front of her and let the real briefing begin.

"You are to take a force no larger than thirty Jounin to the very outskirts of the Rock/Grass boarder and set up a small base of operations near the city of Imo Maji. From there, you will perform a series of surgical strikes against the city's surrounding military installations."

Kakashi rolled his one visible eye. "Sounds easy."

Tsunade frowned. "It's not. Your cover will be protecting the Fire Daimyo that are attending the Rock's first meeting of parliament, giving you a three day window to infiltrate Imo Maji, disable whatever weapon's program they're running, and then get out without causing an international incident."

Kakashi shrugged. "Still sounds easy to me."

Tsunade pointed a finger at him, her eyes narrowing. "Do you want to end up like our little snake-child friend?"

"No, not in particular."

"Then I suggest you shut up, get your forces ready, and get out of my office, Hatake. I'm still mad at you for that whole Uchiha debacle."

Kakashi bit his tongue to keep from saying anything about _that_, and then bowed. "Yes ma'am."

He turned to leave, but stopped midway to the door. "…Though..." He had to be insane for what he was thinking. "I do have a request."

Very insane.

Tsunade let out a massive sigh. "What is it?"

Kakashi knew he was treading dangerous ground, but since he had failed Sasuke in such a way…"I'd like to take one of my students with me, if at all possible?"

Tsunade looked at him for a long, drawn-out moment. "Hatake Kakashi, are you in--"

"It's Sasuke." The Copy-nin cut her off, his tone almost fatalistic.

Tsunade's eyebrows went up. "Oh." Then, she looked at how serious Kakashi was being and began to laugh. "_Oh_. Ha. Okay, _fine then_."

Even if part of him felt that he should've defended Sasuke's honor or _something_, Kakashi kept his tongue in his head and bowed as low as he would allow himself to. "Thank you Hokage-sama."

"You shouldn't." Tsunade said out of the blue, making Kakashi stop in his tracks. It hit Kakashi as odd that Tsunade – who hated Sasuke for running away in the first place – would warn Kakashi about taking the Uchiha on a mission where he could be killed.

"Why not?"

Tsunade sighed, a trait that Kakashi believed she would be famous for in the near future. "The brat's been in a bad place ever since Orochimaru…died, Hatake; but...Whatever lets you sleep at night, alright? It's none of my business."

Kakashi shrugged, thinking that yes, it wasn't any of Tsunade's business, and began to walk to the door.

Unfortunately, she still wasn't done with him.

"...Oh, and Kakashi?"

He stopped at the door for what seemed like the third time that meeting. "Yeah?"

"Don't you _dare_ fuck this up."

Kakashi stood still for a long moment, his hand barely hovering over the doorknob.

"Yeah. Okay."

Then, he was gone.

XXX

"So...the Uchiha?"

Kakashi nodded at Iruka, who slowly tilted his head to the side and began to stare into the mysterious contents of his coffee cup.

"Yep." Kakashi answered, succinct and slightly stand-offish.

Iruka kept staring into his coffee. "Uchiha _Sasuke_?"

"Is there another Uchiha that Itachi left around to angst about after him?"

"No, not to my-"

"Then I'm talking about Sasuke."

It was an awkward silence that grew between them, something thick and impenetrable that should have disturbed Kakashi, but didn't. The schoolteacher had agreed to meet with _him_ that afternoon, not the other way around.

"So…um."

Iruka's eyes finally left his coffee cup, his lips parting and hanging open as if he were trying to form the words he wanted to say before speaking them.

"...Why?" he asked, finally, his tone half-questioning and half-disbelieving.

Kakashi raised a solitary eyebrow, the cogwheels of his mind slowly creaking to a start. Iruka wouldn't be…ready? No, ready wasn't the right word -- appreciative, then, of what Kakashi was planning to do, so the platinum-haired shinobi had to lie.

"Why what?" he almost-spat; almost threatening and almost daring Iruka to question him again.

Iruka's eyes darted back to the table, looking either hurt or embarrassed like a pup who had over-stepped his boundaries, and Kakashi thought he had deflected the question sufficiently enough to-

"Why are you taking _him_ of all my students?" Iruka blurted out, regrouping in front of Kakashi's eyes and surprising him, quite frankly, because Iruka shouldn't have had a _backbone_.

"Well, I need _someone_ to plug my dick into." The Jounin responded after a pause, sarcasm taking over almost instantaneously. "I mean, Sasuke is nice and tight, Naruto not so much. And don't talk about Sakura." He shuddered for effect and Iruka's eyes went as wide as plates.

"You w-what?" the Chuunin stammered.

"Butt sex, Iruka. That's what I'm talking about -- having sex, in the butt, with lubrication being optional."

Iruka's eye twitched, his hand gripping his coffee cup tighter and tighter. "I…You…"

Kakashi smirked behind his facemask, his single eye turning into a happy curve. "I'm joking, Iruka."

The teacher soured, his face going from "Oh my _god_s" to "I'm going to kill you with point objects." Kakashi dodged the kunai Iruka threw at him easily enough, but didn't get away in time to miss having the rest of Iruka's lukewarm coffee dumped on his head.

"Jackass."

"I know."

"No, really. You are a freaking _jackass_."

"Well, you know the old saying: You are what you eat."

"…I'm not even going to try and correct you."

"Really, though." Iruka asked as he ordered another cup. "Why him?"

Kakashi was about to respond when he heard it -- a sound he dreaded hearing everyday but somehow had come to grow used to over the years out of a mix of sheer desperation and necessity.

"Kakashi! My eternal rival! I cannot believe you'd abuse the flames of youth this way!"

Kakashi's visible eye drooped. "Oh god, not him."

Gai burst into vision in all his excruciating greenness, but the sparkle in his bared teeth somehow seemed diminished as he grimaced. "My hip rival! I... I DON'T KNOW YOU ANYMORE!"

Kakashi tried to dissuade Gai, waving his hands in front of him as he spoke. "Look, I told Iruka I was-"

"How could you sully the good names of your students like so?"

"Gai, I-"

"Kind Sakura is still yet arriving at the cusp of her womanhood, and you…you would suggest doing something so abnormal to her comrades but not to her beautiful body? You have destroyed her pride as a woman, man!"

"But, Gai-"

"And Naruto! He has been through so much for someone so young, and yet you would try to put out his inferno of youth with your strange and hip metrosexual ways! Why, my friend? WHY?!"

"Gai."

"Sasuke is no different! Your students are reaching the peak of their Youth and you would take the trust they put in you as their teacher and, and-"

"_**Gai**_!"

Gai threw the curve of his arm over his face and turned away from Kakashi, shouting "NO! NO MORE WORDS!" before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Kakashi sighed and pointedly ignored the rest of the patrons. After he finished dabbling at his face with a napkin, he continued talking to Iruka as if nothing had happened. "Anyway..."

"He's insane."

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, he-"

"You're insane." Iruka interrupted him, his tone oddly colder than what Kakashi was used to receiving from lower-ranked shinobi.

"True…" Kakashi shrugged. "But I'm still taking him and Sasuke with me."

"You're all insane." Iruka slumped forward in his seat with a tremendous sigh and placed his chin on top of his crossed arms. "Haven't you Jounin done enough to my students yet?"

If he considered it; really looked at all the damage he'd done to Team 7 through the years, he would've said yes to Iruka then and there. The way he'd put them through so much while all the while expecting them to persevere through things most Chuunin couldn't even do should have been enough for any man to call it quits.

"I don't know about Gai…But, me? Not yet…I…Well, I'll give it to you straight, Iruka. I'm going to use this as an excuse make up for what I did to Sasuke."

But it wasn't enough; would _never _be enough until Kakashi finished what he started.

Iruka straightened in his seat; doubt splashed all over his face like Kakashi's hair was with coffee. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Do you really want to know?" Kakashi dared the Chuunin, his head propped up on his hand and his tone languidly edging.

"Yes."

Kakashi smirked, or smiled, and maybe it was a proud smile and maybe it wasn't, but when he said, "Well…I mean I'm going to start being a teacher, for once." he actually believed he felt as good as he talked, raising his hand up and counting his reasons for changing on his fingers.

"All my life I've only looked out for myself. I've always been…well, alone, and these kids – Sasuke and Naruto – they're just like me; they _need_ someone. I know I can't be their Father, or even their mentor, but I can be their teacher, right? I've been through what they've been through, and that has to count for something, so I've got a plan. It's not a great plan, but…Shit, for everything they've been through I think it'll help them more than just letting them walk around the Village and _stare_ at each other like kicked dogs."

Despite his own apprehension, the slow smile that spread across Iruka's, at first admittedly confused features as Kakashi explained what he was going to do and how he was going to do it made Kakashi feel all the better about his decision.

He was doing the right thing.

Yes.

He _was_.

…Somewhere far away, a loud sobbing wail drifted through the sky.

Iruka coughed, trying not to notice.

"Alright Kakash, you've got my blessing."

Kakashi couldn't help but light up. Even if he was going to take Sasuke if Iruka said no, having the man's goodwill made him feel more secure in his decision.

"Really?"

Iruka nodded and finished his second cup of coffee. "Yeah. Just...One more thing?" The scarred teacher stared at him evenly, his smile gone from his face.

Kakashi somehow couldn't stop being reminded of his earlier meeting with Tsunade.

"If I find out you've molested my former students in any way, I will personally go Ibiki on your genitals."

Laughing somewhat uncomfortably, the Jounin brought a hand up to scratch the back of his head.

"Deal."

XXX

Hatake Kakashi really, really hated Uchiha Sasuke.

"Do it again!"

They'd been sparring each other for hours now, trading blows and jutsu between each other like two dogs chewing on different ends of the same bone. Kakashi had been winning for the most part -- keeping the Uchiha out of arm's reach and making him -think- instead of act -- but Sasuke was growing impatient.

Impatience was not a virtue he liked in his students.

The Uchiha looked up at Kakashi from the ground, sweat dripping down from his bangs and his ruby-red eyes spiraling with the ritualistic click-whirl of the Sharingan's memorization cycle. Kakashi felt that should have been proud that Sasuke had enough chakra in his body to hold up the Sharingan for so long, but he wasn't.

Sasuke was cheating.

The Sharingan taught ninjutsu and taijutsu to its user by flash-burning them into the mind, but the discovery and the mastery of the smaller acts that made up the jutsu were completely screened over.

It wasn't really learning, it was leeching from someone who knew more than you did.

'Goddamnit, why does he keep…'

Kakashi himself had tried not to rely on the Sharingan the whole time they'd been training, but Sasuke memorizing everything Kakashi threw at him through his bloodline instead of through hard-work made him angry enough to just say, "fuck it" and go blow for blow with the Uchiha.

It was first time it was actually bothered Kakashi that his protégée was using their bloodline as perfectly as he had been taught to, and he didn't know how to deal with it.

'Okay, so I'm a hypocrite. So what?'

The half-Chidori he'd given him had been a gift -- a way for both of them to show off in front of everyone else during the Chuunin exam.

'Haha! My pupil knows an A-ranked jutsu!'

Everything else, though?

Not a gift, and he hated it when his students took shortcuts around their training.

Especially when they didn't have to.

So he kicked Sasuke in the face as the raven-haired teen lunged at him.

"Without the eyes!"

The black-haired noble staggered back with a grunt, his face scraping against the dirt as the force of Kakashi's blow sent Sasuke into full backwards somersault. Kakashi stared at the prone Uchiha for a time, wondering when exactly he went wrong with his training. He'd been careful to tailor to Sasuke's needs; to be as tough as he thought the boy needed him to be, and to be as lenient as his pride demanded. Sure, it had been pandering of the worst kind, and it had alienated his other students to the point of almost hatred, but Sasuke had shown the most potential and despite everything the Uchiha _had_ grown underneath Kakashi more than Naruto or Sakura ever would have.

…And yet…

Chi-chi-chi-chi-chi…

Sasuke was making mistakes. Stupid mistakes that he shouldn't have been making -- like getting back up to his feet and charging at him with a half-Chidori crackling in his hands.

"Kid, you better realize something..." Kakashi ducked low, all fluid grace, a hand slamming into the ground for balance as he twisted from a crouch into a vertical hand-stand. "I invented this technique."

He rotated, hard, just as Sasuke near and knocked the half-Chidori-wielding Uchiha in the temple with the heel of his boot, sending him sprawling.

"And unlike you, I've mastered it."

Sasuke rolled with the blow, his fingers digging into the ground. Kakashi merely flipped back onto his feet and gave the brat a hard glare. "You had enough?"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. "Fuck you."

Kakashi smirked and then instantly Kawamiri'd out of the way as Sasuke's hands flashed through a series of seals. It didn't matter, though, because in the next moment Kakashi was very sure that a great portion of the forest wouldn't be around anymore when Sasuke placed his fingers to his lips.

'Okay, don't tell me he's going to…'

He knew that the Uchiha-prince was easier to push than most, but this was the first time his homicidal tendencies had culminated in more than barely suppressed killing-intent and a few harsh words.

'Crap.'

Maybe he shouldn't take such delight in annoying the hell out of his student.

"Katon: Karyuu Endan!"

'Gotta move!'

The fire scythed through the underbrush, twisting and ripping through the trees like fiery hurricane. It was bright; tempestuous; too bright for a ninjutsu cast by a shinobi of Sasuke's level and too fast to be real.

Even as the fires rolled through underbrush, eating away at everything they touched, Kakashi knew something was wrong. The mouth of the inferno yawned wide, devouring everything around it, but there was no heat.

Kakashi got as far as 'There's genjutsu at work here...' before Sasuke suddenly appeared beside him and put a kunai through his throat.

"I think this is the point where one of us says checkmate, Hatake-san."

Kakashi shrugged, the tip of the knife biting into his neck. "Beauty before age, Sasuke."

"I may be younger than you are by a few years, but do you really think I'm that stupid?"

Kakashi shrugged yet again. "It worked on Naruto."

Sasuke stiffened almost instantly. "I…am not Naruto."

Kakashi laughed. "Prove it!"

The kunai plunged into his neck just as Kakashi reached out to his immediate left. A shower of red erupted from the wound in his "throat" and part of him remembered that, even if Sasuke had grown a bit, he was still Sasuke. And Sasuke had one fatal flaw.

He was predictable.

'If you think that because Naruto hates killing and you don't, it makes you a better shinobi? Pfft.' to his dismay, Kakashi's left hand grabbed at empty air.

'...Crap. Maybe not that predictable, eh?' He went through the hand symbols for show and slammed his first half-Chidori of the day into the tree-trunk of the oak he was standing on.

'Now where…?'

"Shit!"

'There we go.'

There was a flash of light, and then the forest melted all around him. Sasuke came crashing out the higher branches of the tree as it was ionized, Kakashi following him to the ground with as much grace as he could manage.

'Gotta make the kid look bad to make myself look good.'

Sasuke hit the ground with an unceremonious thud. Kakashi landed beside him with little other than a small grunt and then began to walk towards the black-haired Avenger.

"Are we done yet?"

Sasuke mumbled something into the dust. Kakashi frowned behind his mask.

"Beating you like this isn't fun, yanno?"

Alright, he was lying through his teeth. Yes, it _was_ fun. But he kept that little tidbit to himself, no sense in overly aggravating the Uchiha more than he was about to. Sasuke pushed himself up with his arms, coughing blood. "Why won't you leave me alone!" he screamed into the dirt, his arms trembling from the force of Kakashi putting his heel between his shoulder blades and trying to push him down.

"Because, well…" Kakashi leaned forward on the foot he had on Sasuke's back and assumed the classic "thinking" position. "I've tried time and time again to be nice about this, and you just _won't listen_. I'm tired of it. I've tried coddling, I've tried bribing, and you just don't seem to _get_ it, Sasuke."

"Get what?!", sounded more like "Gft Whuff" when his student's face was in the ground, Kakashi noticed dryly. He pressed his boot into the back of Sasuke's head, making sure that his point was driven into exactly where he wanted it to be. "That you are where you are because of yourself."

He could tell the finality of his tone got through to the Uchiha when he slumped into the dirt and barely managed to choke out "…Why? Why me and not Naruto, or Sakura?" _Whuh meh han bot Narufo, or Safufra?_

"Because _you_ are the reason _they_ have tried so hard to get to where _they_ are. You, however, don't have that drive. You've based you're entire _Nindo_ around killing one person."

Sasuke managed to push himself up to his elbows, his back shaking from the effort he was exerting while Kakashi let gravity and adrenalin take care of things. "_So?! You don't even know what I've been through!"_

Kakashi roughly pushed him back down, the corner of his lips turning up into a snarl.

"I've lost a father, my friends, and my mentor. Even though I don't have a family, that still _hurts_ you little cuntstain."

Sasuke stayed on the ground, but turned his face enough to the left to be able to look at Kakashi with one Sharingan-covered eye. Everything about him – his stance, his look, even how he _breathed_ – seethed with defiance.

"_I don't fucking care" Ih dohn ffckeng are_

The effect of his words was instantaneous; a lightning bolt to Kakashi's insides. The Jounin reeled back and punched Sasuke in the face hard enough to _hurt, _knocking one of Sasuke's teeth loose and splitting his lip.

He didn't even feel _bad_ about it.

"And I don't care that you have mommy and daddy issues. See? We're even in our not-caring about things."

Sasuke shut his visible eye in pain, but didn't cry or scream at Kakashi in anger -- which earned him a few brownie points in Kakashi's eyes – simply taking the pain and mumbling: "I hate you."

"Gee, that hurts so much." Kakashi shrugged and slid his foot off of Sasuke's back, suddenly tired of talking to the Uchiha like this. "Get over it. I'm taking you on this mission whether you like it or not."

It took a moment for him to do so, but after he realized that Kakashi wasn't going to hurt him again Sasuke got back to his feet. The façade he wore came back up as soon as he was back on stable ground, too. "…Whatever."

Kakashi smiled. Obviously miffed at being talked down to and Kakashi's stupid look, the Uchiha turned his back on Kakashi and began to walk away. Kakashi's smile only grew wider as, picking up a rock next to his foot; he pegged Sasuke in the back of the head and made him stumble forward.

Sasuke whirled to face Kakashi, angry. "Agh! What do you want now!?"

Kakashi smirked and tried to act innocent. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Home!" Sasuke screamed, throwing his hands up into the air for effect.

Kakashi looked down to the ground, his hands in his pockets, and smiled, his eyes turning into happy little curves. "Heh. I don't think so…"

He slid into his fighting stance faster than Sasuke had _ever_ seen the Jounin move when sparring. "…This ass-kickery is definitely _not_ done here, you little _brat_."

Sasuke blinked.

"Are you serious?"

Kakashi smiled.

"Of course."

Sasuke dug his hands into his pockets and stared at the ground. After a long moment, he looked up at Kakashi and smiled. "…Alright then, Hatake-san." The Uchiha started, the use of an honorific outright surprising Kakashi enough to make him miss Sasuke's eyes flashing crimson. "Let's see who's got the better eyes this time around."

Kakashi titled his head to the side, smirking, and pulled up his Hitae-ate.

"Loser buys lunch?"

His only answer was a sneer and a fireball.

XXX

Much like the first time the sword was handed to him, Kakashi was sitting on the center of the rug that lay in the middle of his living room and staring at his father's blade with a mixture of appraisal and fear in his eyes. His fingers ran across the flat side of the thing, its shape already long ingrained in his memory as he slowly; reverently; cautiously turned it around in his hands like he had never seen such a finely crafted weapon before in his life.

_Zabuza's sword tears through the air with a scream, slamming into the tree in front of them with a loud, reverberating **thwack** that makes Kakashi smile.  
_

_'Demon of the mist, indeed. He can't even cut through a tree.'  
_

…And the truth was he hadn't. Katana...wakizashi...nodachi...they might have all been called "shinobi weapons," but none of them extolled the simple grace and fine, almost unnatural ease that went with wielding a tanto. Kakashi marveled at how light the weapon felt in his hands and at how natural it was to wield so recklessly without causing harm to oneself; demonstrating this fact quite easily as he flipped the weapon up into the air and caught it by its blade.

'_Hm_...' he thought as he lowered the blade to eye-level and began to scan its edge for any imperfections. '..._Something feels_..._Off_...' With a flourish, he flipped the tanto across the back of his hand and the flat of his palm before grabbing it by the hilt and pointing the narrow blade at the wall in front of him, testing its balance by running through a series of cheap, but effective carnival tricks.

'..._Hm_.'

Even when it was held prone in one hand, his father's tanto was still quite light. And though the hilt somehow felt like it weighed more than the blade -- as if the business end of the tanto were made of glass or somehow hollow on the inside -- the blade still remained balanced no matter how many times he tried to disprove its craftsmanship.

'_Still_...'

He held the tanto up to eye-level again, running a finger across the flat part of the blade to check for imperfections. Its edge gleamed in the soft light of the room, casting shadows and flickering splotches of metallic light that danced along the walls -- a perfectly honed piece of metal with not even a scratch on it.

'_What's __**wrong**__?'_

He held his father's tanto up to eye-level again, running a finger across the flat part of the blade to check for imperfections. Its edge gleamed underneath his crucial gaze, the soft light of the room casting shadows and flickering splotches of metallic light dancing against the walls. His eyes followed these dancing wraiths, focusing on them and following the angle they reflected at back to his blade. Any imperfection would cause a broken image or a fuzzy reflection, but...

There were none that he **could see**.

"_What is it?_"

Kakashi sighed, and picked up the coarse-soft sharpening stone next to him. Using a piece of wet cloth, he moistened the blade and began to run the stone along its length as roughly as he could, a long-short-long-short grinding pattern soon developing without his meaning to. It took a few hours for him to be satisfied with how much he had progressed, and when he was finished he held up the blade yet again and began to examine it.

"…_Hn_."

He picked up the sharpening stone again, and went to work.

"_Work while you have the light. You are responsible for the talent that has been entrusted to you," his father had once told him, citing a passage from one of his favorite scrolls._

Rationally, he knew that nothing was wrong with it...But something bothered him about it, like a sort of incessant nagging in the back of his mind. Maybe Gai was right and he _was_ being too obsessive about it. Maybe he was being too critical of his own abilities and there _wasn't_ anything wrong with his father's tanto that he could fix.

…Then again...

Kakashi let out a sharp, derisive snort. It wasn't his lack of ability that caused his discomfort. Something was definitely off about the sword, and knowing it made him let out a sigh.

It was going to be a long night.

XXX

TBC

XXX

_You know that I care what happens to you  
And I know that you care for me  
So I don't feel alone  
Or the weight of the stone  
Now that I've found somewhere safe  
To bury my bone  
And any fool knows a dog needs a home  
A shelter from pigs on the wing_  
- "Pigs on the Wing, Parts 1 and 2", Pink Floyd


	3. Dogs

**A/N**: 3/4ths of the way done, people. I appreciate comments as much as I appreciate blowjobs. :-P

XXX

Tagline: (Timeskip) As war between the Leaf and the Rock looms over the horizon, Hatake Kakashi is going to have to learn that, in a world where words and titles mean everything, one must put-up or shut-up in the face of the impossible.

XXX

_You gotta be crazy, you gotta have a real need  
You gotta sleep on your toes, and when you're on the street  
You gotta be able to pick out the easy meat with your eyes closed  
And then moving in silently, down wind and out of sight  
You gotta strike when the moment is right without thinking.  
And after a while, you can work on points for style_

XXX

Splitting The Lightning

a Naruto fanfiction  
by Pridefall

Disclaimer: I own nothing except what is mine.

XXX

Chapter 3  
"Dogs."  
_Or_  
In Which Some Teaching Methods Are More Obviously Flawed Than Others

XXX

When shinobi were inducted into the ANBU Corps, they were instructed to write a single brief passage from a book, poem, or creed on the inside of their masks.

XXX

"First, we get in. That's the easy part."

_Eight pairs of booted feet hit the wet ground, a staccato of soft footfalls echoing in the dead of night._

"Next, we split into two teams of four. Alpha and Omega – one team to each sub level."

_Eight weapons flash silver in the pale moonlight, silencing more than a dozen patrolling guardsmen and early-warning alarm systems with deadly, pack-like coordination._

"We have to move quickly. Alpha team must reach the main laboratory before Omega team finishes planting the C4 in the basement. The guards'll know something's up when the first patrol doesn't make its report, so if you have to kill anyone in your way, make it quick and painless."

_Eight leather armor-clad bodies sneak through the empty hallways of the compound, four of them quickly melding into the sturdy iron walls as easily as some would travel through water._

"No one can see you."

_A hundred cameras and tripwires are rendered utterly useless in a manner of moments, but human error, however, is not._

"If they do, kill them."

_"Who are-" Lightning flashes, electric-blue lances of energy splitting off of his student's hand and illuminating the hallways like the death knell of a dull white star. Kakashi lets out a low, biting whisper of "No." as his gloved fingers clutch at empty air._

"Alpha Team, you have a five minute window of "grace" between entering the compound and reaching your goal."

_The body looks heavy; sounds even heavier; falls to the ground as the sound of a thousand chirping birds echoes throughout the compound. Kakashi drags his hand down the length of his face, suddenly feeling very, very tired._

"Once you're done taking care of your business, rendezvous with Omega team near the main entrance and high-tail it out of there."

_Then the anger comes. A curse growled out between clenched teeth is met with a flash of blood-red light pierced by black teardrops swirling to life in the darkness. Before Kakashi can even react, Sasuke loudly inhales and blasts a fireball towards him that barely misses lighting his face on fire._

"Anyone left behind ends up becoming pretty black ash-outlines on the wall."

_As the Rock-nin disintegrates, ruby red eyes meet a dark one; the look that the Uchiha receives somehow both half-condescending and half-disbelieving despite the mask and the smoke between them._

_"What."_

"The time is…"

_"I can't believe you just did that."_

"…Eleven minutes to midnight."

_"They would have sounded the alarm…Or worse."_

"You have less than seven minutes."

_Kakashi shakes his head. "That's not the point, Sasuke."_

"Make them count."

_"Then what is? You wanted me to come here, Kakashi, not the other way around. I'm just doing what needs to be done."_

"On my watch..."

_"Your little…stunt could've cost us the mission, you brat."_

"…Mark."

_"Well, it didn't." the Uchiha shrugs, utterly nonchalant about the situation._

"Mark."

_"Sasuke --" Kakashi begins, the sudden beeping of his watch cutting him off. Without another word, he takes Sasuke by the arm and shoves him through the wall and out the other side._

"Mark."

_They land in a heap of tangled limbs. "What in the Hell -"_

"Mark."

_An explosion rends the night, shaking the earth and rumbling through flesh and bone like the fist of god itself has struck the earth. "Keep your head down!" _

"Alright then..."

_When he's sure they're safe, Kakashi helps the Uchiha to his feet and then, without warning, slams Sasuke against the ruined piece of wall behind him. "Look at me, Uchiha," he growls, the teen coolly averting his eyes and suddenly turning into the picture-perfect prince of haughtiness. "Look at me!"_

"Move out."

_"Sasuke, we play this game by __**my**__ rules, not yours." Kakashi had to try very hard not to go postal on the boy's ass, not believing he could have been so callous. "If you do that again, I'll personally make sure you will never be able to again." He let got of the Chuunin, then, and turned his back on him. 'You won't cost me... __**us**__ any more comrades, Uchiha. I won't let you." _

Eight pairs of booted feet hit the wet ground, a staccato of soft footfalls echoing in the dead of night.

XXX

"I've never met someone so…" Kakashi began, rotating his hand as he searched for the right word "…Stubborn. Trying to get anything through that Uchiha's head is like trying to cut through a steel door with the dull part of a senbon."

Ishida shrugged, taking a drag from his cigarette in the slow, leisurely way that came to someone with experience. "What about that Naruto kid?" he asked, inhaling smoke he had just exhaled and blowing a small ring into the sky. "Isn't he exactly the same?"

"Well." Kakashi kicked his feet onto the table and leaned his chair backward enough so that it stood on two legs. They'd been wandering around their make-shift camp for an hour trying to just find a place to rest, and he wasn't going to let it go to waste over a petty thing like manners. "He's…stubborn, sure, but…" he laced his arms behind his head and leaned it on the back of the chair. "Eh, I don't know. Sasuke's different. They're both…Eh."

Ishida laughed, a sound somehow both jovial and disregarding "How can't you know? They're your students, man."

Kakashi shrugged, still not looking at the crimson-haired Jounin. "They're hard to predict, is all. Training them was like trying to keep several out of control trains from crashing into a village being razed by the undead and some maniacal demon-god eating at your brain in the background all at the same time."

"So, aside from the whole 'I hate you but love you' vibe they had going on…" Ishida started, smirking towards Kakashi like some kind of madman. "They acted like most horny teenagers?"

Kakashi laughed at his student's expense. "Ha, I wish." He scratched the back of his head, his eyes turning into happy curves. "If they were fucking each other to exhaustion instead then they'd probably be too tired to try and get each other killed on every other mission they went out on."

Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment. Naruto and Sakura would probably let themselves succumb to the all-mighty goodness of sex, but Sasuke? He's was the definition of a cold-shower. "Maybe."

Then again, Naruto did have that gods-awful stamina…"Probably."

"Most likely."

Ishida took another drag of his cigarette, his eyes closing as if to savor its flavor. Kakashi's left eye twitched in response, reminding him that Obito never quite approved of Ishida or his bad habits in the first place. "Those things kill you, ya know?" Kakashi said, rather half-nastily.

"And?" Ishida looked at him out of the corner of his amber-colored eyes, a slight smirk tugging at his lips. "So do those fucking soldier pills, but we use them when we need to anyway. There's no big difference, I think."

Kakashi opened his mouth and then promptly closed it. Though Ishida had a point – which was something Kakashi wasn't used to. Ishida was…bipolar with his insanity, to say the least – Kakashi still felt like he had top reprimand the red-haired Jounin for…something. How could someone just willingly kill themselves like that?

"That…It's different." He began, setting his chair down on two legs while Ishida cocked his head to the side and did his best I-am-a-clueless-moron impression. "Soldier pills save lives. Shit like tobacco just makes you feel good about yourself until you quit." Which, admittedly, was true about soldier pills, but Ishida seemed to forget about that while Kakashi continued. "Comparing the two is like saying that drinking gasoline and whiskey is the same thing because of the end result."

"Wait, what?" Ishida started; the look on his face both surprised and incredulous. "What's so different between drinking gasoline and whiskey, exactly?"

Kakashi blinked. Sometimes he forgot that Ishida wasn't quite as human as he seemed. "Well, uh…" He ran his hand through his hair, trying to figure out what to say. "Okay. What I meant was that you…Well, you can't expect someone to have the same kind of orgasm just because you've fucked them the same way you always do."

"Hm." Ishida started, rubbing his chin contemplatively as he looked at Kakashi. "Uh, Kakashi, you understand what you just said, right?"

Kakashi gave Ishida a quizzical look. "Eh?"

Ishida returned his look with a derisive snort, "Oh, come on man!"

"What, that Sasuke and Naruto are different? Of course. I've known that forever." Kakashi stated rather flatly, his arms crossed at his chest and his countenance screwed up in a look of defiance. "I might be clueless when it comes to them as a team, but I know where both of them come from."

Ishida finished off his cigarette and then threw it down to the ground and put it out with his heel. "Well, alright. But what you just said, don't you understand it? Two similar things that add up don't add up the same way all the time, right?"

Kakashi nodded. "Basically."

"Then it should be the same thing with your students, ne?"

Kakashi looked at Ishida.

Ishida looked right back at Kakashi.

Kakashi burst out laughing.

"What? I meant metaphorically, you crazy bastard." Ishida said, arching his eyebrow as Kakashi fell out of his chair and began to roll on the ground.

"Oh, I know! I know!" Kakashi cried out, still rolling on the ground. "It's…I-it's just that it's so simple!" He quickly sat up, and smacked himself on the forehead. The epiphany he had just had was like a blow to the back of the head. "Holy crap I can't believe I didn't see it before!"

Ishida arched an eyebrow. "…Did your mind break or something?"

Kakashi rose to his knees using the table as support, and wiped a stray tear from the corner of his eye. "No, no breakage here, Ishida. But…" the scarecrow-nin stood up to his full height, a smile tugging at the edges of his mask. "…I think…I think I know how to deal with Sasuke, now."

"Oh yeah?" Ishida asked, his face genuinely intrigued. "How?"

"It's quite simple, my friend!" Kakashi clapped his hands together. "When it comes to teenage drama and angst, the first issues of Icha Icha have all the answers!"

Ishida tilted his head to one side, his face slightly bemused as he watched Kakashi make his way around the tent in search of his infamous magazine-based addiction. "You're not seriously going to fuck your student, are you?"

Kakashi shot Ishida a look that could melt stone. "Of course not, you degenerate. I'm going to show him how the other half lives and prove it's, you know, better than angsting over everything under the sun."

Ishida began to nod in assent, thinking it all made sense now.

Then it hit him...

"That…and I could use this as an excuse to finally get some time off! Holy crap! Tsunade'll have to promote you to keep up with the slack in the paperwork!"

None of it did.

"Wait. What?" he blurted out; flabbergasted. "Whaddaya mean, Kakashi?" Ishida yelled, already noticing that Kakashi was long gone. "Kakashi! Hey, Kakashi! That's not funny, man! You know I hate paperwork!"

XXX

They landed amongst the kunai that peppered the ground, Kakashi gracefully hitting the earth on both of his feet while Sasuke stumbled onto his hands and then flat-out let himself fall onto his stomach. The display showed Kakashi the difference in skill they still had between each other, but the fact that Sasuke managed to stay conscious even though he was breathing so hard reminded the Hatake that the gap was beginning to close.

Scary thought, that.

'Well…' Kakashi thought, turning to look at the obviously exhausted Uchiha with a slight twinkle in his eye. '…I told him not to use the Sharingan for so long. S'not my fault he still doesn't pay attention.'

"You…" The Uchiha managed to gasp out between mouthfuls of water he gulped from his personal canteen, making Kakashi a little bit more proud of his student. "…Done ?"

Kakashi shrugged, leisurely – if not a bit condescendingly – walking a slow circle around Sasuke to show how relaxed he was. "For now. I don't really like smelling like burning leather."

Sasuke made a half-smiling, half-pained face, his hand instinctively going to his ribs when Kakashi began to nudge him with his foot. "That hurts, moron."

Kakashi shrugged again. "Then you shouldn't have stopped in front of my Ryuuka no Jutsu like you did."

Sasuke's took a moment to reply; closing his eyes as if he was picturing the moment again.  
"True." Sasuke eventually replied as Kakashi sat down next to him, one leg stretched out in the dirt. Sasuke was breathing hard enough that he felt just a tad bad about wailing on him for as long as he did. Though he was still curious why the Uchiha let himself get beaten so many times. "Why did you, then?"

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair, encircling his cheek and then holding it over his face like it was a mask. "Honestly?" the Uchiha chuckled through his fingers, which was slightly disturbing to watch. "I thought it was a stupid genjutsu."

Kakashi put his face in his hand. Sasuke thought that the giant ball of fiery doom he had sent at him was a genjutsu? That was his first excuse for slacking?

"That's…" he had about eight different insults on the tip of his tongue, but opted, instead, to finish his sentence with something less eloquent than "retarded on a level I've never seen before," when he saw how…well, tired wasn't what Sasuke looked, it was more like…

Broken?

Kakashi hoped not. He wasn't done with him yet.

"…S-Stupid." He stammered, not quite knowing where his confidence went. "Really stupid."  
Sasuke shrugged. Kakashi knew the dark-haired Uchiha didn't care, but… "I mean, even Naruto wouldn't make that kind of mistake."

To his utmost surprise, the Uchiha didn't go berserk with rage.

'Huh? Why isn't he trying to stab me with pointy things?'

He looked at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.

'…Wah?'

He was…asleep?

Nah.

Couldn't be.

Kakashi leaned over and waved his hand in front of Sasuke's eyes. Was Sasuke really that…"I'm just resting my eyes, idiot." The dark-haired shinobi growled, swatting at Kakashi's hand.

Ah. Natch.

"Sure." Kakashi rolled his eyes. Sasuke might've been tired and beaten, but he still managed to be an ass.

"Oh shut up. I don't want to play your games anymore."

The silver-haired pervert pouted, his eye drooping, the perfect picture of disappointment. "Mou... Sasuke, that won't do. You know how this game goes."

Sasuke opened one eye, his nose scrunching up in confusion. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well…" Kakashi began, leaning back on the palm of his hands. "…We can throw harmless jibes at each other like this, or…" He smirked, here, and saw Sasuke tense out of the corner of his eye. "…We can quit for today, and I can hand you over to Gai. And you just know how much he would love to have a chance to instill some of his boundless flames of youth into you." Kakashi beamed. "It might help thaw that cold, black little heart of yours, Sasuke-kun!"

The youth mulled that over. Surely he wouldn't... right?

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Ah, I see you agree then!" Jumping to his feet, he grabbed Sasuke by his wrist and tried to tug him up to his feet. "Well, let's go find him! Maybe he has a spare spandex suit for you to wear!"

Sasuke's eyes went wide. "Kakashi, you're kidding, right?"

Kakashi chuckled, but continued. "The green might really bring out those eyes of yours, Sasuke…"

Sasuke shouted despite himself. "NO!"

Another chuckle bubbled up from his throat. "I thought so. Ready for another round then?"

Sasuke finally took back his wrist (rather viciously, Kakashi noticed), and glared at his sensei.

"No."

Kakashi shrugged. "Ah well. Let's just…" When he looked back at Sasuke, the Uchiha was "not asleep" again. 'Dammit. I need to…Bah. Whatever.' Thinking that his student had the right idea, Kakashi lay back on the ground and closed his eyes. It was still a nice enough day outside to catch a quick cat-nap.

"Why did you rename your technique Chidori?" Sasuke blurted out rather suddenly,

Kakashi blinked his only visible eye. That...sort of came out of left field and beyond. "What are you talking about?"

"Your technique." Sasuke shifted onto his side and looked at his teacher, his eyes surprisingly concentrated. "Why did you rename it? Was Raikiri not outlandish enough?"

Kakashi didn't face him; choosing instead to gauge his student's reaction. "Hm…You don't really need to know about that, I think."

Sasuke openly glared. Kakashi shrugged as if it were the most inconsequential thing in the world. "What?"

"So that's it?" The Uchiha asked, quite put-off that Kakashi was being so tight-lipped.

"What do you mean?"

"You're just going to sit there and not tell me?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Kakashi stated matter-of-factly.

"Now I'm disappointed." Sasuke said, lying back down onto his back and looking up at the darkening sky.

He could have let it go there – should have, most likely – but the way Sasuke sounded…Kakashi just couldn't…"Eh?"

"You always brag about it. Even Gai holds it in high esteem, for what it's worth."

"And?"

"I'm just asking out of curiosity. Forget I even said anything."

And with that, Kakashi did. Sasuke didn't need to know...that much. Not yet, anyway. He'd made too many mistakes with the power he had already, and Kakashi wasn't about to give him more. Especially after last night's fiasco of a mission.

"…Did you really cut a lightning bolt with it?"

And yet the kid kept pressing the matter, making it Kakashi's turn to glare. "Are you serious?"  
Sasuke looked absolutely resolute. "Yes."

"That's something I'd expect Naruto to ask, Sasuke." Kakashi stated rather flatly, rolling his one visible eye.

"So sue me. I'm curious and in enough pain from your 'training' to care about the truth."

"I would sue you for that Uchiha fortune I keep hearing about, but…You know what they say about lawyers. They'd stab you in the back and then slit your throat." He glanced at Sasuke, smirking behind his mask and his visible eye curving happily. "Sounds familiar, eh?"

Sasuke titled his head down. "Okay, I walked into that one." He said, half-laughing.

"'Well..." Kakashi stroked his imaginary beard. "That's a change of pace."

Sasuke's faint smile vanished. "J-just answer the damn question."

"Ask nicely." Kakashi scolded the Uchiha, wagging his finger for effect.

"Fuck you."

He'd expected the Uchiha would say as much, and continued their exchange. There was no way that Sasuke would actually stoop so low as to ask for anything. "Well, since you put it that way, I-"

"Fine." Sasuke almost-growled, surprising the hell out of Kakashi. "Fine. Please?"

Kakashi blinked.

Wow.

Did Sasuke just…

Were those the words…

Out of his mouth?

**Wow**

He had actually said _please_.

"Hm…" Kakashi had a minor crisis of faith. Sure, the kid was being obstinate and there was no way Kakashi could ignore the Uchiha short of beating him mute; but, damn. He'd said _please_ and meant it. "…Alright."

Sasuke sat up; intent on hearing what Kakashi had to say. Kakashi tried to hide his smile and the growing sense of pride he had in his chest.

'Well hot shit, he really does want to know.'

"They're two different techniques. Just like the Yondaime's Rasengan and Naruto's Oodoma Rasengan." Kakashi began to explain, drawing a small diagram in the dirt. "Where the Rasengan and its variations mold a set amount of chakra into a circular shape…" he continued, drawing a sphere, "…The Chidori takes all of that chakra and channels it into one point in the center of your palm."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Alright. Then what's the difference between the two, then?"

Kakashi drew a bigger circle in the dirt around his original one. "You can control the shape or the size of the Rasengan by adding more layers of chakra to it, but the Chidori…" he drew a line through the two circles he had drawn, dissecting them. "Must always be the same size and shape to maintain its potency or else it'll lose its piercing edge and all that excess chakra you place into it won't be able to stay together."

Sasuke sat back, his eyes scanning the diagram. Again, Kakashi noticed with a small amount of pride that Sasuke was not using the Sharingan. "Alright, alright," Sasuke began, his fingertips tracing the diagram in the dirt. "Okay, so if the Chidori is a piercing technique then it can stab though the Rasengan, right?"

Kakashi shook his head. He knew that Sasuke would ask that question sooner or later. "No, and don't ever try to do that either."

Sasuke frowned, his eyes darting from the ground to Kakashi. "…Why not?"

Kakashi drew his hand across his face. "Because the damn thing isn't solid, you moron."

"I know that." Sasuke scowled, obviously taking notice of what Kakashi had just called him. "What I don't get is why the damn thing can't be pierced by a technique that's, by design, supposed to…."

Kakashi held up his hand. "You're over-complicating things again, Sasuke." Drawing another circle in the dirt, the Jounin made sure Sasuke was paying attention and began to fill the circle in with squiggly lines. "Even though the Rasengan only looks solid on the outside, in reality it's always moving in a quick spiral."

"I know-"

"Now," Kakashi interrupted, drawing a line leading into his original circle. "Tell me exactly what happens when you throw something solid into a tornado?"

"It either breaks or gets carried away."

Kakashi clapped his hands together. "Exactly. The Chidori may be able to stab into the Rasengan, but, and I'm ashamed to say this, it can't really **stop **it. Even if the technique does happen to have a greater capacity for killing your target instantaneously, the Rasengan is just a whole 'nother lever of jutsu."

"How is the Chidori a better technique, then?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrow rising in question.

Kakashi sighed. Sasuke just wasn't getting what he was trying to explain. "I never said it was."

"But you-"

"I know what I said. What you're not understanding is that there is a primary difference between the Chidori and the Rasengan that makes one better at one thing and worse at another when compared side by side. The Chidori is an assassination technique, and the Rasengan is a hand-to-hand technique. It's as simple as that."

"So then where does the Raikiri come in during all of this?"

Kakashi shrugged. "It's a variation of the Chidori."

"I realized." Sasuke bit off, obviously a bit peeved that Kakashi was being circular with him. "Now how do you create it?"

"You don't." Kakashi pointed out.

Sasuke looked at him as if he had just grown an extra head. "…What?"

"Exactly what I said."

"But if you don't form the Raikiri with your own chakra, then… What, you take someone else's chakra to use the technique?"

Kakashi smiled. "Nope."

"Then you manipulate electrical fields?"

"Ha! I wish. But, wrong."

"Then...what? How'd it get the name?"

"Figure it out yourself. It didn't get its first name just because it's flashy."

Sasuke opened his mouth, but seemed to decided against speaking. Kakashi shrugged, and, thinking that Sasuke was better if handled when distraught and open rather than wound up and closed, opened up a can of worms that he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to handle yet.

"…So…Uh. Anyway..." Apparently, he was, and proceeded with all the tact and grace of a friendly brick to the face. "Do you think it was it worth it?"Sasuke shifted uncomfortably under his teacher's gaze, his eyes catching Kakashi's for a moment before he went back to staring at the sky. "Was what worth it?"

"You know." Kakashi began, making the universal hand-movements for 'I don't want to say what you know I'm going to say so pick up on what I'm trying to say you idiot, Do I have to hit you with a fish to get through to you?' "That."

Sasuke's hand dropped from his face as he propped himself up on his elbows. "…I don't follow." He winced, which Kakashi thought was strange, and then he noticed the long gash he had on the inside of his arm. "What do you want-"

Enough skating. Kakashi dove in headfirst. "Betraying the village."

Sasuke looked as if physically struck, "I didn't betray anyone."

"Last I heard-"

"If you would let me finish," Sasuke interjected, rolling his eyes. "I didn't betray anyone that mattered."

Huh. Well, that was new. Kakashi tried not to look appalled by his student's answer. "Your teammates?"

Sasuke's eyes wandered to the horizon, his fingers interlacing underneath his chin as he entered what Kakashi liked to call "Brooding Teenager" mode.

After a fashion, he said. "Sakura…"

"Hm?" Kakashi's eyebrows went up. Did he actually care for the pink-haired girl…?

"…was a sycophant. She got over it."

Alright, he should've expected that. "…And Naruto?"

Another long silence, though this time Sasuke looked less brooding and more apprehensive, which, all told, was not an adjective Kakashi would normally attribute to the Uchiha.

"…I doubt he regrets it, much."

Oh. Oh wow. So he did care. Kakashi let him know he found out about it, too. "Aha! So you do at least consider--"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed. "Don't put words in my mouth."

"But you just said-"

"I know what I said. You just didn't get my meaning."

Alright then. If Sasuke wanted to build walls then Kakashi would have to knock them down.

"Enlighten me, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke opened his mouth, and then closed it. "They…" Kakashi leaned forward, expectant. What, exactly, could Sasuke say to explain himself? "…Shouldn't care. You shouldn't care."

The conviction behind his voice was lacking, sure, but…the way his eyes bore into the ground so hard…did he really mean it? "Well…Why not?"

"Because I don't."

Kakashi sat up. "That's…" There was no way Sasuke was that…stupid. "Really stupid. Like…Orochimaru trying to attack Tsunade on her period stupid. Are you telling me you don't care about yourself?"

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes. "It's not important."

Kakashi crossed his arms. "And betraying everyone you know to have a chance at maybe killing your brother is?"

"I know you'll never get the extent of it; but, yes. It does."

Kakashi couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Even though Orochimaru was basically, you know, using you?"

"Yes."

"Even though you almost got Naruto killed?"

"Yes."

"Even though-"

"Yes." Sasuke practically hissed. "Always and forever, _yes_."

Kakashi looked at his student for a moment, trying to keep his face neutral. "Why?"

"Because!"

"Because why?"

Sasuke closed his eyes and refused to answer Kakashi's question. To which Kakashi responded to by poking Sasuke in the side until he did.

"…Could you be any more annoying?"

The scarecrow beamed. "Yes, yes I could."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

"Aw, did I push your big shiny buttons the wrong way?" Sasuke said nothing. The murderous intent radiating from his eyes was enough to make Kakashi laugh at him. "The Uchiha-death-glare doesn't do it for me, boy-o."

"That." Sasuke started, rolling his eyes and laying back down on the ground. "That right there is the problem."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow. "Eh?"

Sasuke put his head between his cross arms. "No one gets it, Kakashi."

"Enlighten me." Kakashi asked, crossing his arms.

"This…" Sasuke began, pausing for a moment as if he were planning out the rest of his sentence. "This is my life and everyone just treats it like…Like some kind of joke."

Kakashi highly doubted that, and tried to voice as much: "Now, listen-"

Sasuke would have none of it. "**Why can't I make them understand**!" he screamed, his voice reaching a timbre Kakashi had never heard Sasuke use.

Kakashi tried to jerk away as Sasuke grabbed him by the front of his undershirt and pulled him too close for comfort. ""My entire family is _dead_, Kakashi! Not just my friends, my comrades, or my fucking dog – my _entire_ family!"

Kakashi forced Sasuke to let go of him and watched as the Uchiha belatedly settled back onto his knees. "Sasuke…my father killed himself," the Jounin stated tonelessly, the coldness of his voice rather surprising even to himself. "If you'd let me…I…I think I'd understand what you're going through better than--"

Sasuke beat his fist into the ground, breaking the surrounding terra into a web-shaped pattern of cracks. "That's only…_That's only one person to you, Kakashi_! How does that even compare!"

Taken aback, Kakashi's hand slowly curled itself into an obvious fist, but Sasuke continued on regardless. "I'm…I'm the last one left…Itachi killed everyone I cared about and...and…Do you even know what that feels like? To wake up in the night and go running into your parent's room just to find out that no one is there? Realizing that no one will ever be there no matter how much you want them back?"

Kakashi closed his eyes as the all-too familiar memory swam to the surface and, his clenched fist unraveling, voiced a small, fragile: "Yes."

Sasuke didn't hear him.

"I was six…**SIX**!" he screamed, still wildly running back and forth across the spectrum of human emotions. "…And…He took away everything from me!...Because of him…Do you know how many people are afraid of me? How many people on the council want me dead just because I'm related to Itachi?"

Of course he had heard the rumors, but…really? Was Sasuke so self-conceited that he thought that was the _only_ reason the Council wanted him dead? Did he honestly believe that betraying the Village and running off to join the Sound meant nothing?

…Kakashi kept listening, anyway.

"Killing him means everything to me! I don't care who or what gets in my way anymore; my ends will always justify my means and Itachi's death is _all that matters_ and I'll kill anyone who tries to get in the way of that!"

Sasuke probably expected Kakashi to be silent after that; for the Jounin to finally be silent and let their conversation drop then and there. Kakashi, however, couldn't help the next words that came out of his mouth.

"…Like Naruto?"

Sasuke looked to the ground, unapologetic even though he had said nothing.

"Like Naruto?" Kakashi repeated, his voice carrying.

"_Especially_ Naruto." Sasuke whispered back, his entire body shuddering.

Kakashi…really didn't have anything to say to that. He'd…He'd suspected it for the longest time, but…"That's…Well, wow." It had never occurred to him that the Uchiha was this far…gone? Deranged? He didn't even have a word for it. "I'm really disappointed, Sasuke."

The Uchiha shrugged. "I don't…quite think I give a fuck."

"I doubted that you would. I just wanted to put that little tidbit out there." Kakashi stated rather flatly.

"What…Whatever, Kakashi." Sasuke said, ending their conversation right there whether Kakashi liked it or not.

The Jounin looked away, thinking about all the times that Naruto had put distance between he and Sasuke; had gone ahead in his life instead of staying in the past and looking for strength there.

Eventually, Kakashi whispered: "…They crucify traitors in the Rock."

Sasuke _snapped_.

"Then **why the fuck did you bring me here**!"

Kakashi rose to his feet with the Uchiha, their faces almost inches apart. "To try and teach you something, you ungrateful piece of shit!"

"By beating me?" Sasuke screamed, turning his back on his sensei. "By telling me everything I've lived for is wrong?" Sasuke whirled on his teacher and prodded him in the chest. "Who the _fuck_ made you the all-mighty king of the world?"

Kakashi took Sasuke's hand and twisted it to the side, then kicked him in the side of the knee to force him to the ground. There was no way he was going to get anything through to him without violence. "I am trying to _help _you."

Sasuke stilled, his hands flexing at his sides. "_What_?"

"You, you idiot!" Kakashi snarled, grabbing Sasuke's hands so that he couldn't try anything. "I'm trying to keep you from fucking up your life again!"

"I don't need your help! I don't need anyone's help!" Sasuke screamed, struggling against his sensei's grip as if it would've done anything -- to which Kakashi kicked the Uchiha in the back of the knee and let him fall to the dirt.

"That's it!" Sasuke rolled forward, landing on his feet, and sprang towards Kakashi with a half-Chidori crackling between his fingertips and killing intent oozing from his every pore.

Kakashi didn't even have time to blink or breathe; he could only act.

"Raikiri!"(1)

XXX

_The trick to wielding any kind of weapon, Kakashi found, was to never sacrifice your range of motion for a killing stroke. His father helped teach him this; helped train him to never fully commit himself to an absolute when there was always another option readily available to him. It was a rather simple lesson to learn -- rather, it was easier than the opposite because leaving yourself open got you killed more often than not -- and Kakashi, instead of searching for any kind of meaning in his father's words, took them at face value because it made sense_

_This was the reason why shinobi used deception along with their physical arts; why men like Hayate and Gai relied on speed and strength to kill their opponents and not just one or the other. It is why Kakashi, his body working in night-perfect tandem with his mind, moved through the trees like a flashing wraith and fell down on his confused enemies without a sound; why he was already moving onto the next group as his expert muscles completed the lithe movement that removed the head of their leader and carried him back into the trees._

_Some would call it grand-standing. Some would call it recklessness. Kakashi just thinks it not so much style or grace that compels him to move as he does; its that he's committed to killing them insofar as that it doesn't get he himself killed. (To commit to something totally and wholeheartedly without questioning it, made you blind, and blind shinobi were useless._

_"You can't base your life on just one goal." he'd told Itachi once while they were both still relatively new to the ANBU and hadn't learned to hide behind their masks. "It limits your vision; makes you blind to what other possibilities are in your grasp. If you're totally committed to one thing, and only one thing, then everything else in life just seems effluent."_

_It's not how he glares – hard, stoic, unnerving – or even how he speaks – clipped, like a brain-damaged shadow clone – that tells Kakashi that the Uchiha was far from pleased; it's how he stands, arms crossed and back leaned against the wall, so cool and composed like no one can see through his act and spot the teenager inside that Itachi keeps trying to murder. "Then what good are shinobi for, Hatake? What are we without order; without purpose?"_

_Kakashi could really only bring himself to shrug at that. "You make yourself, Itachi. No one else can decide that for you."_

_The Uchiha refused to talk to him for weeks after that, because, somehow, Itachi knew that what Kakashi had just said translated less into what he meant, and more into "I haven't figured that out myself, yet.") Kakashi was no different from Hayate; or, to an even lesser extent, was exactly the same as Gai. Granted…his father's tanto was lighter than a katana and heavier than a fist; Kakashi still needed speed as much as he needed strength, and as armor gives way to pressure and force, as steel rends flesh, organ, and bone, his tanto driving into the Rock-nin's chest in a perfectly executed counter-strike, he is already thinking: Where to go next? What do I do after this killing blow? Can I go right? Can I go left? Is there another enemy behind me? Is there another enemy above me?_

_Which paths do I follow? _

_Which paths do I not? (After the war, when the then-current ANBU General promotes him to ANBU and gives him the Mask, his sensei takes him out to lunch. They both say very little, but Arashi's warning was vague enough to make Kakashi commit it to memory._

_"You know…There was once a missing-nin; I can't remember what they called him, but…He believed that the technique he had invented was more powerful than any his clan had learned before him.."_

_"How is this important?"_

_"He was an Inuzuka. One of the more powerful, if I remember right…He'd talk all the time about how he didn't need a Nin-dog to be the kind of shinobi he wanted to be and how his clan's needless use of 'lesser being' hampered more than helped them in the long run. Since, well, you know – dogs age faster than humans."_

_"And?"_

_"Well, for one thing, wolves kill their own kind when they go rogue."_

_"I still don't see your point."_

_"…Let's just say he wasn't and his Tsuuga technique weren't as strong as he thought he was. And neither are you or your Chidori."_

_He's left a little disoriented from the information. Is it a threat, or a warning? When he vocalizes as much, Arashi's long gone, and the last positive thing Kakashi thinks about his teacher ends up not having anything to do with how kind or brilliant the man was; but, 'I can't believe he left me with the bill.') As the blood of his latest enemy wells, falling to the ground in gouts of red and spurting into the air when he withdraws his blade -- some of it landing on him, staining his dark shirt even darker -- he is still planning; he is still thinking._

_Hatake Kakashi knew never to fully commit himself to any action, but this time, somehow, on this battlefield filled with Rock-nin whom all have the same face, it's different. This time it feels entirely too personal; entirely too real, and maybe, just maybe, Obito's death has more of an effect on him than just a prosthetic eye -- because he'll never consider it his, truly -- and a handful of inherited memories._

_It is the nature of shinobi; the nature of the murderer to always be aware of their surroundings, and Kakashi is damn good at what he does. It's why they call him, among other things, the Wolf-nin, the Copy-Eye, and the Tracker's Blade – he is known as the best scout in Konoha for a reason. Mental, physical, or even emotional, Hatake Kakashi notices things no matter how small or insignificant they may be. (Uchiha Sasuke openly gaped at what his teacher had done, his mouth open slightly at the sight and his eyes still wide from the raw power of it._

_"That's…" the Uchiha whispered, letting go of the breath he'd been holding and resembling the child he tried so hard to never be. 'Incredible...' He wouldn't say it out loud, but the jounin could see it in the boy's expression._

_Kakashi proudly smirked to himself, his hand still slightly smoking. It was nice that even Sasuke could be surprised once in awhile._

_"I call it the Chidori."_

_The Uchiha was silent for a moment, a look of intense concentration on his face._

_"I want to learn it."_

_Kakashi smiled, half-wolfish, half-impish, and stretched his arms. Ignoring the voice in the back of his mind -- the one that said, quite jovially: "No, no. I don't think I'll teach you this quite yet Hatake-kun – Kakashi put his hand on Sasuke's shoulder, and said: "Then I'll teach you it. No questions asked.) It is this that teaches him to look inwards. This that teaches Hatake Kakashi that the Chidori, a technique without range of motion or possibility, was, at best, inherently flawed.  
_

_He should have listened._

(You cannot commit to one path, and one path alone. It hampers your ability to change, my son, and this, this is the failure of shinobi. We do not change.)

_Thus, somewhere between Uchiha Itachi murdering his clan; between completing his mission and killing the man that killed Obito; between watching his sensei walk out of the hospital and into the fire with his head held high and his eyes shining like something beautiful, the Chidori dies, and the Raikiri is born. _

XXX

Kakashi watched his student fall back onto the ground and merrily ambled towards his prone and slightly smoking form. He knew what he had to do, and the half-Chidori he'd been slowly re-charging behind his back came to life in the palm of his hand with scream of angry birdcalls; its nigh-clarion call echoing throughout the clearing as if a storm of unseen birds were squalling in protest to what was about to happen.

Sasuke groaned in pain. Kakashi couldn't say if it made him feel good or bad.

"Now," Kakashi began, grabbing Sasuke by the collar and hoisting him up to his knees as he aimed the half-Chidori right at his neck. "Will you listen to what I have to say or do I have to kill you and talk to your smoking corpse instead?"

Sasuke made a sound half-way between a throaty gurgle and yes, his Adam's apple moving in a slow, steady bop as small bolts of lightning crackled against his skin. Kakashi took the sound at face-value, and continued.

"I…I don't know why," Kakashi murmured, steeling himself for the inevitable backlash his talking down to his student would bring on him; his voice growing steadily stronger with every word: "You've been living your life focused on this one...on this one unattainable goal that, by very _definition_ has you committing every single waking moment of your existence to killing your brother, and…" he paused, glancing up in thought, and then. "That's made you _blind_ Sasuke. It's made you into this...this...this insane parasite who betrays his comrade's trust for something as fleeting as power. That would have you _owned_ by the one man in all of the world who would _never_ put you in the line of fire you want to be in."

"How much sense does that make?"

Sasuke, blinking in the glare of the half-Chidori, grit his teeth and said: "I told you, Naruto doesn't fucking matter to me! I only need the power to stop Itachi!"

Kakashi's single eye narrowed. "Even if that power would have killed you?" he asked him coldly, his grip tightening hard enough on the boy's collar that the fabric strained.

Sasuke, however, said nothing.

"_Well_?"

And then, the inevitable. "**Yes**. I would."

Kakashi's visible eye twitched. He'd…expected Sasuke to be so stupid, but…Kami. Where had he gone wrong? How had he failed _this much_?

"What is _wrong_ with you?" he screamed, the half-chidori coming dangerously closer to piercing Sasuke's neck. "What if Naruto hadn't brought you back, huh?! What would have happened if Orochimaru got his twisted little fucking hands on you?"Sasuke said nothing, his eye wide as he watched Kakashi's hands and not his mouth.

"What then, Sasuke!" Kakashi continued, going so far as to shake the dark-haired Chuunin "Your dream means as much to _him_ as Naruto's little pissant whining about being Hokage means to _me_! You have to know that, don't you?! **What did you **_**honestly**_** think would happen**?"

"I…"

"You...You kids don't fucking _know_ what you want, alright? You're too _young_. Too…_Agh_. I don't even have a word for it." Kakashi sighed and lowered his hand. "But…I know this. I am NOT letting you make the same mistakes that I made when I was young, you got that? I am _not_ going to idly stand by and watch you all destroy yourselves."

Kakashi dodged Sasuke's wild punch, already knowing that the Uchiha was at the end of his rope. "I_'m not you, goddamit_! As long as I have my bloodline and my will to survive _nothing can stop me_! No one will _ever_ get in the way of me proving my worth!"

The half-Chidori in Kakashi's hand sizzled into nothingness, as he reared back and punched the Uchiha square in the face. "_**Goddamit Sasuke**_, _**Don't you get it**_?!"

Sasuke's eyes went wide, his collar finally tearing beneath the tenseness of his grip and the loud, sibilant _crack_ of his nose breaking beneath Kakashi's knuckles echoing infinitely in the background, like white noise.

"_**Itachi killed Shisui for the same fucking kind of power you're throwing your life away for**_!"

Kakashi looked at him down the bridge of his nose, massaging his knuckles. Sasuke, mouth agape and the red slowly bleeding away from his eyes, only stared at his sensei as if the man had somehow just stabbed him in the heart.

"...I..."

Kakashi saw it, there. The thing he had been fighting for all along.

"...I..."

Sasuke swallowed, hard.

"I…You…"

…and then, his hands shaking, tried to wrap his hands around Kakashi's throat.

"You're a _liar_."

Kakashi grabbed his student's wrists, but otherwise did nothing as Sasuke continued to try and strangle him. "You. Are. A. Goddamn. _Liar_."

The force on his neck increased with every passing moment, and yet Kakashi still did nothing.

"Itachi…" Sasuke whispered, his thumbs ghosting over Kakashi's Adam's apple. "Itachi wouldn't…"

The dam the Uchiha had constructed inside of himself, so high and so dense, opened, then, a thousand years of solitude and a history of grief pouring out of his mouth and screaming into the sky. "_They were brothers, Kakashi_!" he screamed, tears glistening on the corner of his eyes "_Brothers! Itachi loved Shishui more than anyone else in our entire family_!_ More than anyone else in Konoha! _…He'd never…He wouldn't…"

Kakashi sighed as the boy broke down in his arms, and, closing his eyes, he slowly pressed his forehead against Sasuke's and whispered, "…I am _not_ going to let you destroy yourself for power, Sasuke."

The Uchiha shuddered and closed his eyes as a single tear ran down his face; pushing his forehead against Kakashi's as the Jounin grabbed his student's wrists and pried his hands from around his neck. "Okay?," he whispered, his voice soft.

Sasuke kept quiet, going completely still.

Kakashi shook him, hard. "_Okay_?"

"…Fine."

Kakashi smiled, pulling back and letting the Uchiha fall unceremoniously to the ground. Taking a deep breath, he sat on his student's back as Sasuke began to get back to his feet.

He may have had patience in spades, but Sasuke really was one of the few people in Konoha who could really get him riled up.

"Get _off_!"

"Nope," he said rather merrily, patting Sasuke's head. "You stay on the ground until you see how honest and true my good intentions are, so…."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, still fidgeting beneath Kakashi. "Nothing about this has 'good intention' written on it, Hatake-san! Get off!"

Kakashi shrugged, noting what Sasuke had just called him with a small bit of pride. "Come on, Sasuke! I'm just starting to think you might be worth saving after all!"

"You _what_?"

The Jounin just shrugged. "…Provided you get that stick out of your ass, of course."

More struggling, this time enough to unbalance Kakashi as Sasuke did a half-push up and deposited his sensei on the ground. "And you don't have one, mister hypocrite?"

Kakashi chuckled, rolling to his feet. "Of course I do."

"Well," Sasuke started, turning around to face his sensei. "But," Kakashi interrupted, raising his index-finger. "Unlike yours, the glass-coated stick from the seventh layer of hell, mine is coated in honey made by angels!"

"..." Sasuke looked like he had to fight the urge to slap himself on the forehead. "You do realize how disgusting that sounds, right?"

Ever obstinate, Kakashi nodded. "Yep, but it works well, right?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, closed it half way, and then, said: "You're insane," as he laid back down on the ground, his eyes closing in defeat. "Utterly, and completely _insane_."

Kakashi shrugged and lay down next to his student, smiling.

'_There's a very fine line between madness and genius, Sasuke.._.,' he thought, reaching up towards the sun. '_I only hope you realize that, someday_.'

XXX

Kakashi's ANBU mask – a dog, more by coincidence than choice – read as follows: '_There's none so blind as they that won't see_._'_

XXX

- TBC

XXX

_Sometimes it seems to me as if I'm just being used  
Gotta stay awake, gotta try and shake off this creeping malaise  
If I don't stand my own ground, how can I find my way out of this maze?  
Deaf, dumb, and blind, you just keep on pretending  
That everyone's expendable and no-one has a real friend  
And it seems to you the thing to do would be to isolate the winner  
And everything's done under the sun  
And you believe at heart, everyone's a killer_  
- "Dogs", Pink Floyd


End file.
